Okay, so picture this: Blizzard Entertainment, those crafty folks behind Overwatch 2, decided to mix things up with a hero ban feature last April. If you’ve dabbled in competitive games during season 16, you know what I mean. I mean, Sombra, Zarya, Symmetra, Ana, Mercy – yep, those usual suspects – keep getting the axe. Blizzard’s got some fresh numbers on this, and honestly, it’s kinda obvious they’re up to something. Heroes being banned so often might just push them into a makeover. Well, some of them anyway. Maybe.
Now, get this – Sombra’s leading the charge with a whopping 85% ban rate on PCs. Seriously, 85%! Zarya’s chilling at 59%, and Doomfist is loitering at 43%. But wait, it gets crazier on consoles. Sombra’s bans jump to 93%! And for the numbers nerds out there, Zarya’s at 57%, and Symmetra sits at 23% on those platforms. What’s up with that?
Gavin Winter, a senior systems designer at Blizzard (I picture him with a wizard hat, you?), mentioned that they’re gonna use all this ban data to tweak balance changes in Overwatch 2. Something about making niche heroes more mainstream if they’re perma-bans in their sweet spots. Unpopular ones might get a facelift, regardless of how they do in matches. But hey, there aren’t solid plans yet – hero balance changes won’t hinge solely on these stats. Or so they say.
Now, what does this spell for Zarya and Symmetra? Who knows? But listen, if Sombra’s out of action in 85% of competitive matches ‘cause she’s annoying or something, that’s a major bummer. Why invest time in mastering a character if you can barely use them? Makes you think, right?
Despite a few quirks with the hero ban mechanics, Blizzard seems pretty cool with how things are rolling. Winter said they think the system’s hitting the mark and they’re buzzing to see how these bans morph over time. Especially when they spill more tea about win rates and pick rates. Intriguing, huh?
Oh, and heads up: Blizzard’s letting us mess around with matches more in season 17, coming late June, by launching a new map-voting feature. I kinda wonder if this’ll shake things up or just be another thing to argue about in game lobbies. Guess we’ll see.
